When Sam Fell On Josh
by Liz Huisman
Summary: Samuel Norman Seaborn. That’s a typical drunk name, if I ever saw one...


Title: When Sam Fell On Josh  (1/1)

Author: Liz Huisman

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Incredibly not mine.  You can have them back later, Aaron.

Spoilers: Nothing.  More later-3rd-season Josh-on-trial stuff. 

A/N: Here's another fic I wrote during the summertime.  Here's my own version of how Sam met Josh.  A rather humorous attempt at this type of story, so I hope it turned out okay!

Summary: Samuel Norman Seaborn.  That's a typical drunk name, if I ever saw one…

A worn-out Josh Lyman sat in his dark office.  It had been another day grueling questioning, another day of Babbish's bullshit.  Josh didn't trust Oliver Babbish farther than he could throw Oliver Babbish, and Sam Seaborn tended to fully agree with him.

Sam.  Josh was just waiting for him to come by.  Every night after Josh was done with Babbish, there was Sam, standing outside his office, holding a warm turkey sub and a cold cup of coffee.  Sam never had been good with his timing, but Josh always accepted it gratefully.

But tonight was different.  Sam wasn't there, bad food in hand.  Josh figured Toby must be keeping him, but after a look at the small digital clock that now sat on his desk, he figured that wasn't the case.

So, in typical Lyman-fashion, he kicked his legs up unto his desk, and closed his eyes.

What he was longing for right then was a good, solid alcoholic beverage.  Any alcoholic beverage.

A memory flashed through his mind.  He couldn't help but chuckle at it.

That night… that bar…

"What'll you be drinking tonight?"

"Just a beer, thanks."  Josh sat down on the stool in front of him.

He planned on having this one beer, and then going back to his crummy apartment.  He was tired, and the jackass Senator he was currently working for was working him to his limit.  It was almost as if Josh was the Senator, and Jack Clark was the poster image, the clean-shaven, friendly man with a full head of hair.

The bartender handed him his beer, and Josh handed him a couple bucks.  

A man staggered over to the counter and sat next to Josh on an empty bar stool.  Josh looked at him.  For a drunk, the man's appearance was still nice.  He had on a plain white dress shirt that had come un-tucked from his black pants, and was smiling drunkenly.

"Do you have the time?" the man asked loudly, but with a politeness in his voice.  Josh was a bit shocked.

"I think it's time you got cut off," Josh said, as the man tipped off the stool and right onto his lap.

He motioned for the bartender, and asked how much money the man on top of him owed.  Josh dug out the $20.

After the bartender walked away, Josh dug around again, looking for his wallet.  The man thought that Josh was going after him, and started swatting at him.  With his free arm, Josh grabbed the man's arm and held onto it while he finished digging around for the wallet.  He opened up, and looked at the driver's license.

"Samuel Norman Seaborn.  That's a typical drunk name, if I ever saw one," he muttered sarcastically.

"Uh…" Sam groaned on his lap.

Josh ignored it and continued reading until he found the address.  Grabbing Sam and hauling him up, he put the wallet back in Sam's pocket and dragged him out of the bar.  He hailed a cab.  It took some work to shove Sam inside, but once he did, he gave the cabbie Sam's address, and they took off.

When they reached Sam's building, Josh paid the cabbie and hauled Sam inside.  After a couple minutes of searching, Josh finally found the apartment, and ushered Sam inside.  Sam stumbled over to the sofa, and passed out.

"Great," Josh muttered as he unbuttoned the top button of Sam's dress shirt, and pulled his legs up so he was lying down.  He found a blanket sitting on the floor, and covered him up.

Josh turned on a small lamp and looked around.  It was perfect, compared to his sloppy apartment.

He glanced at the clock on the wall.

"3:30!  Damn…"

Sam felt someone lightly hitting him with a pillow.  He opened his eyes and groaned as his stomach lurched.  He raced to his bathroom, and threw up.

When he was through, he stood up and saw Josh standing there, holding a large cup of steaming black coffee.

"Who are you, and what happened last night?" he asked as he took the cup.

"I sat down at a bar, hoping to enjoy a drink before I went home.  But of course that didn't happen.  Almost as soon as I sat down, this extremely drunk guy falls onto my lap.  That's you.  So, being the nice person I am, I paid for your drinks, and brought your drunk ass home, paying cab fare as well.  That was two hours ago.  Now it's 5:30, and I have a job to go to, and I assume you do as well."

Sam just nodded and took another sip.

"Thank you.  You didn't have to—"

"Josh.  It's Josh."  

Josh turned and walked out of the bathroom, and out of the apartment.

"Josh!"

Josh snapped open his eyes, and saw Sam standing in front of his desk.

"Here.  Tonight you get a COLD turkey sub and HOT coffee.  I made sure I got it right this time," Sam stated as he set a bag and a plastic mug in front of Josh.

"Thanks."

"No problem.  How'd it go?"

"How it always does.  They should really put Babbish in some damn park, and call it the Fountain of Bullshit."

"I'm sorry."

"I just can't wait until it's all over."

"Normalcy would be a great thing for everyone again."

"My life hasn't been 'normal' since you fell into my lap that night in a Georgetown bar!"

"Was that what you were thinking about?"

Josh nodded.  "And you know what?"

"Huh?"

"You still owe me $38.75."

END


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